Axelrad, who kept the limb as a reminder that he had helped a Vietcong solider, returned to North Vietnam to try to track down Hung, but it was only through word of mouth that the owner was reunited with his arm.

Hung told BBC News: "I'm very happy to see him again and have that part of my body back after nearly half a century.

"My arm bone is evidence of my contribution to the war. I will keep it in my house... in the glass display cabinet."

Hung can now try to receive a veteran's pension after his army documents were lost.